Truffle Soba Watanabe, a Truffle Soba Specialty Restaurant, Opens in Tokyo's Roppongi on December 1, 2026

Truffle Soba Watanabe (トリュフ蕎麦わたなべ), described as Japan's first truffle soba specialty restaurant, opens in Roppongi, Tokyo on Tuesday, December 1, 2026. The restaurant serves soba made with truffles, a premium ingredient counted among the world's three great delicacies.

The restaurant has three main features.

A Bowl of Soba With Truffles and Gold Leaf

The restaurant's signature bowl combines truffles, sometimes called "black diamonds," with gold leaf. Beyond its showy appearance, the bowl lets diners enjoy the rich aroma and delicate flavor of truffle. The restaurant aims to offer a special dining experience that breaks with conventional ideas about soba.

Sobamae: Enjoying Sake at a Soba Restaurant

Sobamae (蕎麦前) is the custom of enjoying sake and small dishes slowly at a soba restaurant, then finishing the meal with soba. Said to have been loved by Shotaro Ikenami, a leading novelist of the Showa era, this stylish way of enjoying soba dates back to the Edo period. At Truffle Soba Watanabe, diners can experience it in the grown-up neighborhood of Roppongi.

A Menu From the Chef of a Hard-to-Book Restaurant

The menu draws on dishes developed by a highly skilled chef from a well-known restaurant in Kitashinchi, Osaka. That restaurant has no signboard and does not publish its phone number, yet it is booked up a year in advance. The dishes are designed to bring out the full appeal of truffles.

The restaurant brings this Kitashinchi menu from Osaka to Roppongi in Tokyo, where visitors can try its truffle soba.

Note on "Japan's Most Expensive Soba"

The restaurant bills its soba as "Japan's most expensive soba." According to the restaurant, this is based on its own survey.

Survey date: November 2026
Method: Checking the official websites and in-store menu displays of soba specialty restaurants nationwide
Comparison: The price of one bowl of soba (single item) that a soba specialty restaurant offers as a regular menu item
Selection criterion: The soba with the highest per-bowl price, including tax